Testing the Limits

7/25/2018

Emily Magnus

Summer days are long and leave us with plenty of time for adventuring. It’s been great fun watching news come in from all over the world and learning about the athletic accomplishments of our fellow Bulls. Here’s just a short list of the Bulls we know about.

In July, Kyle Baker ’07 played in the quadrennial World Lacrosse Championship in Israel as a member of Belgium’s national team. One of three team members without a Belgian passport, Kyle joined the team two years ago after following a branch of his family tree through his maternal grandmother, Mariette Dhaveloose.

“You’re allowed four roster spots that don’t hold a passport to the country, but have lineage,” said Kyle, an assistant coach at the University of New England whose full-time job is as a contractor for his father’s plumbing business. “My mother’s mother was born in Belgium, and her family’s all from Belgium.” The world championships were July 11-21. Organizers expected 46 nations from six continents to take part. Also competing in the championship were Matt Gudas ’14 who played for Argentina and Pete Mumford, son of Sustainability Coordinator Maggie Mumford, who played for Slovakia. More information about the tournament can be found here: http://worldlacrosse2018.com/.

In the world of endurance sports, the Bulls are well-represented. In mid-July Nurse Nancy Thurrell traveled to Denmark and competed in the Aquabike World Championships. After a cold and cloudy 2-mile swim and a 75-mile bike, she proved to be the champion, her closest competitor finishing 25 minutes later!

Nurse Nancy Thurell on the podium in Denmark

Just this past weekend there were two additional races of endurance in which Holderness Bulls proved they have grit and perseverance to spare. Out in Colorado, Nikki Kimball ’89 raced in the Hardrock 100, a 100-mile ultramarathon with 33,000 feet of climbing and an average elevation of 11,000 feet. After two years of struggling with injuries, Nikki is healthy and had an amazing comeback; she finished second for women, 17th overall, with a time of 32:18:35. Here’s a great interview with her before the start of the race. Science teacher Rachel Jastrebsky also had an amazing race in Ironman Lake Placid, the longest-running American event aside from the Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. With a time of 10:19:49, Rachel was the 8th female and 49th overall. Also racing in Ironman Lake Placid was Jason Evans ’88 with a time of 14:51:45.

Rachel Jastrebsky all smiles during the Ironman Lake Placid race

Closer to home, Cole Donovan ’16 has been pitching for the Winnipesaukee Muskrats, a local summer league baseball team under the New England Collegiate Baseball League. They’ve still got another week of games scheduled, so stop by if you are in the area!

Cole Donovan '16 pitching for the Muskrats

If there are other Bulls you know who are using their summer months to test their limits, let us know. Send an email to emagnus@holderness.org. We’d love to feature them. Go Bulls!